Dried Strawberries – Dehydrator Method

This recipe for Dried Strawberries – Dehydrator Method results in preserved fruit perfect for adding to cereal, oatmeal and granola, or simply snacking out-of-hand. You can also crush them and sprinkle them over ice cream or use them to embellish baked goods. They are divine as a topping on our Butternut Squash Soup recipe. Let your imagination and your palate be your guide! 

Preparing the strawberries

To make these Dried Strawberries – Dehydrator Method, start with berries that are shiny and firm with no mushy spots. Before you spend hours drying, taste the berries; if they aren’t wonderful fresh, they won’t be wonderful dried. Wash and hull the strawberries, then slice them as evenly as possible.

Place the sliced strawberries on the dehydrator trays leaving space in between to facilitate air circulation. In my machine, 3 lbs of sliced strawberries fills all 5 trays with a little leftover. Once dried and conditioned, my 3 lbs of strawberries filled 3 pint jars.

Dehydrating the Strawberries

In 2020, I spent the early days of the pandemic concerned that the food supply chain would fall apart (but it didn’t thanks to all of the truckers and delivery people who kept us going!). In the spirit of being proactive, I purchased a dehydrator and began filling jars with the fruits and vegetables I would miss the most. Dried strawberries, bananas, cherries, nectarines, eggplant, squash, string beans, kale… The crisis eventually passed but I continued dehydrating produce because it was an additional way – along with canning – to preserve my garden harvests and farmers’ market deals.

For this Dried Strawberries – Dehydrator Method recipe, set your machine to 140F for 10 hours. To promote even drying, pause the machine every few hours to rotate the trays. I’ve noticed that visible shrinking generally begins at the 2 hour mark. I am also thrilled to report that when I make these our whole house smells like strawberries after just 10 minutes.

Once the drying process is completed, let the berries cool and then move them to glass jars. It’s a good idea to soak the dehydrator trays right away to make cleaning them easier.

Conditioning the Dried Strawberries

If you’re planning to store dried produce long-term, you will need to “condition” it. Place the dried strawberries in jars filled only halfway and shake them several times a day. If condensation forms on the glass, the fruit isn’t dry enough and should be placed back in the dehydrator for an hour or more.  Repeat this process daily until no more condensation appears, and then the jars can be fully filled and stored. If the conditioning step is skipped and the berries aren’t dry enough, they could mold and be unsafe to eat.  All dehydrated foods should be conditioned to boost their safety and quality.